Suction cleaning device.



G. G. SCHMITZ.

sUGTIoN CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLICIATION FILED JAN. 30, 1909.

1,1 1 6,850. Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/ Q i f W. W il" u will* G. C. SCHMITZ.

SUCTION CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION :FILED JAN. so, 1909.

1 1 1 6,850. Patented Nov.' 10, 1914.

s SHEETS-SHEET s.

oFFIoE GEORGE c. SCHMITZ, or RACINE, wisconsin.;

Q sfsIGNonl nr nEsNE assremlEN'rs,

`'ro RICHMOND". RAmA'roEcoMrnNY, or .W Yoann. y., A conronnrron or To all whom ttm/ay concern:

Beit known that I, GEORGE C, SCHMITZ, a citizen of the Unitedl States,-, residing at Racine, iiithe county of, Racine and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement inSucti'o'n Cleaning Devices, of which the following is. a )specili-l cation.

' My invention relates, more particularly, to suction cleaning-devices ofthe type containing brush-means at their suction-open-p ings for brushing-against the surface to be cleaned during the.l subjection'of said' surface to the suction action.

My object is ltovercome theldsadvani" tages of prior constructionsand to providel a suction cleaningdevice of thecharacter referred to which will thoroughly and .effectually" remove thel dust and other particles'from, thefarticle to be cleaned and in such operation require the minimumvamount of v'power and suction;l which shall be com-I pact and positive-in operation and shall be sufliciently light inl weight to rmit it to be readily manipulated for the c eaning-"purpoSejby any. one desiring to use it, whether in its use it rests upon the Hoor vl'oris supported in the hands of the operator.A

Referring to the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a view in sldeelevation of a suctioncleaning-device embodying my in- -vention, the handle thereof being partly broken away neurone end. Fig. 2is an enlarged section taken at the line A on Fig. 4 and viewed in the direction of the. arrow.' Fig. 3 is a vdiagrammatic viewillustrating by dotted lines the paths o f movement traversedA by the brush. Fig. 4 is alongitudinal section taken at the line B on Fig. 5` and viewed in the direction ofthe arrow, the

upper end of the casing being shown in-elevation; Fig'. 5 is a section taken at the line C on Fig.-4, and viewed in the direction of the arrow. Fig.- 6 is a face View of the lowerv portion ofthe: structure illustrated in the'' preceding iigures showing a modification4L thereof.4 Fig. 7 is an enlar edfview in side elevation ofthe structure il ustrated .in Fig. 6,* one of the rollers employed being omitted; and Fig. 8, a section taken at the -line 8 .on

l Fig. G a'ndviewed in the direction of the arrow.- In the embodiment of my invention 1l lus trated, themot'or for .driving -t he.snct1on fan andbrush is-contained in the head' ofi s Pecicatm 0f Letters Patent Patented Nov. 10,1914'. Aprlictionledianuary39,190s.- serial No. 475,102.-

device which,.as re resented, form of a casing forme .with acylindrical section 7, an. expanded, bnlged section gv -for'rned in two parts' asrepresentedand having a neck 9, and a relatively flat tapering e0 secti'onlO secured to the neck 9 and contain-" L ing an elongated opening 11 at its extremity" from ,which langes12 and'l project to bear against the objectto be cleaned. A11 electric motor, the armature-shaft ends a suction-fan 15 located in the section v 8 of the casing. Any suitable form 4or va riety of motormay be employed, wires 16 7 0 for conveying thecurrent' from the switch 17,- which ma be connected with any suitable source o electric supply, being shown as extending into the interior of the casing- 7 wherein they may be connected with the, 7 5 .motor in a well-known manner.. The f orm of fan illustrated is fof a well''known'jtype comprising'radial blades 18 partiallycut away at their central. portions, as -re re vsented at 19, wh reb they -]o1n to the. ub

ceptacle24, in the form of a bagconstitutu ving an air-filter, has an' elastic nd 2 5 sec uredt'o itat its mouth-portion at which the bagfits over the flange 22 and is'releasably held thereon forse The bag. 24, which preferably is; cmneet'ed.4 at'ts--ree end to the handle, as re' resented, tqextendupwarm has alateral 'en argement' 2LH constituting a pocket formed in` its 'side the. 100

adjacent', to v its point or' connection with casing,.jint o which` the dustandydirt suspended in the" bag under ithe air 'pressure' theren, falls 'whenrotation of the. fan is ar reste-Lc.y 'I

A connector, in the form of a rod 26,@{952'195 -tendingloosely through an opening 27 1n z varial alinement with the motor-shaft 14 inA a bearing-plate 28 securedcrosswise .,the head 6, carries a bearing-block.- 29 .at 'its g' ;.upperend containing a longitudinally-ex- 14 orchi which only is shown, is contained in the lSection 7 this shaft carrying 4at its outer rough 8 at its mouth 11 discharged. $5

arating the, dust front j the air discharged into 1t from the. 'casing-...95'

j-v ten'iilg paket so inawhieh' the outer bauequi ped end of .apin 31 xed in the end of the ub 204 and eccentric with the shaft 14, is journaled. The block 29 contains a passage,32 atan angle" to the socket 30 into which it opens, an oil-cup 33 fitting in the outer 'end of thejpassage'32 serving to supfply oil to said socket. :The opposite endl of the rod carries a clip 34 of spring-metal for releasably holding between its arms 35 a brush-head 36 in 'position on the shaft 26, thebrush illustrated 'being lformed of a stif "back 37 which lfits into the clip between its "armsp'and sets 'of bristles 38 which extend ntofthe opening' 11.

f "{f'sa'preferred means of preventing lrattling or vibration of the rod inthe bear- 'ing' affordedby the plate 28, I form, in the face 0f the-latter,l a semi-spherical depres- Siion 39, into which the rounded end of a bearing-head l0 on the rod fits, vthis bearing-head `being held in place in the depression by la hollow sleeve 41 engaging it and secured tothe rod as by a set-screw 42, and a coiled spring v43 surrounding the rod and-bearing at one end against the plate l28 and at its opnosite end against a collar 44 rigidly secure to the rod 26. The spring `43 serves to hold the head 40 against the bearing surface of the plate 28 at all times, and therefore rattling of the rod` 26 at its bearing is prevented.

v The motor in rotating not only serves to operate the fan 15 and' thereby produce suction at the opening 11, but causes therod 26 by4 reason of its eccentric connection withtlie motor-shaft 14, to move at both 'ends in a circular path, as represented by the dotted lines 45' and 46, with the result -of causing the brush 36 to move through the path represented by the dotted lines 47,

and during such movement loscillate from endt'o end as illustrated by the dotted representation of the brush-head in Fig. 3, it

being understood that the degrees of movements of these parts are shown to be somewhat e'xag erated in this' figure for the purpose of c early illustrating the action of ythese parts. These combined movements 'of the" brush as described causes its end-por- -tionsto be alternately y,driven against the yobject, to vbe cleaned with short sweeping movements, with 'the effect, when a carpet,l cloth, fur, or the like, is being operated on, of causing the bristles to penetrate vbetween "i thejflbers 0r hairs, as the case may be, and loosentheni up and disturb the `dustarticles or other particles to be removed om the object being cleaned by the mechanical action of lthe brush. is manifest that by constructing the brush-device in accordance with my invention a relatively'small motor may be emloyed for driving the fan and brush, this eature being of decided importance in a device of this character, as it renders possible the provision of a device capable of thoroughly and eifectually performin the cleaning operation, of such light weig t as to permit it to be easily and readily manipplated by theoperator. 4

or cleaning uncovered floors, smooth walls, pictures, or like surfaces, the brush `fied construction affording advantages over the first-described construction, especially where the cleaner is to be operated on fabrics, such as carpets having different lengths of nap, thoughit affords advantages regardless of the character of the object being operated on, as hereinafter set forth. In this modified construction, the casing 10 is formed on its rear side with a boss 48 containing a horizontal groove 49 in which a rod, 50 of resilient material, preferably spring-steel, is confined between its ends by a plate 5l fastened to the boss. The ends ofthe rod are bent downwardly and outwardly as represented and extend beyondl the ends of the casing 10 to afford bearings -for rollers 52, the axes of which preferably aline with the brush, each 'roller being provided with rubber treads 53 on which the n when it is operated. The operator, by bear-. ing down upon the handle, may cause 'the bristles of the brush to penetrate the desired distance into the nap, as pressure on the handle causes the rod to iiex at its free ends and thus permit the brush and the casing `carrying it to be moved .toward the object b'ing cleaned. Thus when operating on long nap carpets, where it is desired that 'the bristles deeply enetrate into the nap,

tion 'is caused to' standup from^ the bodyportion of the carpet, the operator will bear j down with-v sufficient forceH on, the handle while moving the cleaner back and forth, vto cause the rod to flex Iat its ends sufficiently far to carry the bristles to the desired position of penetration into the nap; whereas, when a short nap carpet is being cleaned, the pressure exerted on the handle need notjbe so great as that just referred to, as the purchase of the brush required on the nap where itv is short is less than that revcleaner rolls upon the articles to be cleaned ,which .it will be lun erstood under the sucl quired vvhere the ajticle onf-.has lon. They furthermore preventth'e rough-.

ening up of the object being cleaned yvhen it'is a fabric or the like lying on a Hoor,

and tend to hold it down fiat whilebeing subjected to the suction action.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a suction cleaningdevice, the combination of suction-creating'means, a suc tion nozzle adapted to be moved over the surface to be cleaned, a vibratingbrush operated from the suction-creating means and located in the suction nozzle, and a dustreceptacle.

2. In a suction cleaning device, the combination of suction-creating means, a suc.-

tion nozzle adapted to be moved over the surface to be cleaned, a brush in the opening of said suction nozzle, and means for rapidly moving said brushl bodily into and out of contact with the surface to be cleaned, and a dust receptacle.

3. A suction cleaning device comprising,j'

'1n combination, a caslng containlng an in combination, a casing containing an opening, means for producing suction at said opening, a brush supported to be operated in said opening against the object to be cleaned, and means for moving said brush through a curved path and simultaneouslyl rocking it from end Ato end in said opening.

`1. A suction cleaning device comprising, in combination, al casing containing an opening, a motor,imeans for. producing suctionat said opening, a connectorsnpported between its ends at a bearing-,in the Acasing and having eccentric connection. at its inner end with the motor-shaft,` `and a brush at the opposite end of said connector operating in the opening in said Vcasingagainst the object to be cleaned, ,for the purposesetorth.

.5. A suction cleaning device comprising, incomblnatlon, a casing containing an elongated opening, a motor, a suction-fan .op-

eralted by said motor for producing suction at :said opening, a connector having eccentricconnection with the motor, a bear- 1ng for said connector intermediate the ends of the latter, and an oblong brush connected With said, connector and operating in saidopening against the object to be cleaned, for thepurpo'se set forth.

6. A suction cleaning device comprising,

vin combination, a casing containing lan opening, means for producing suction at said opening, a -motor, a connector having eccentric connection With the shaft of said motor, a bearing 'or the connector between its ends, and a brush-clamp provided with a removablel and replaceable brush-head supported to operate in said opening against i the object to be cleaned.

' 7. A suction cleaning device comprising, in combination, a` casing containing an opening, a motor in the casing, means operated by the motor for producing suction atl said opening, a bearing, a connector mounted in said bearing and extending lon-l gitudinally of the casing and eccentrically connected with the motor-shaft, and a brush on saidconnector.

8. A' suction cleaning device comprising,

opening, means for producing suction at said opening, a brush supported to operate in said opening against the object to be cleaned, means for imparting movementV to Sli with saidcasing, and rollers journaled .on

the 4ends of said rod and projecting beyond z the ends ofy the casing on which the device may be moved over the object to be cleaned, for the purpose set forth.' l

, GEORGE C.y SCHMITZ. In presence ofl. A. SCHAEFER,

L HEIsLAn. 

